Thirty Minutes
by Nanaho-Hime
Summary: They have thirty minutes. Thirty minutes in which they don’t know each other and all seems bliss. Only thirty minutes, but it is enough. Andromeda/Ted for the SU's 'I Never' challenge


Thirty Minutes

By Nanaho-Hime

For the SU's 'I Never' Challenge

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Info: My challenge was to write a light-hearted, fluffy Andromeda/Ted. If you guys are regular readers you know that I'm more likely to write an angsty onesided Rabastan/Andromeda so this was particularly difficult considering the incredible amount of angst that is Andromeda/Ted, and my own writing comfort zone.

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_They have thirty minutes. Thirty minutes in which they don't know each other and all seems bliss. Only thirty minutes, but it is enough. _

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They were in Hogsmeade when they first met and they were alone, which is lucky they suppose but they don't think of that at the time.

Andromeda was sick and tired of Rabastan Lestrange trying and failing to appear charming. His sneering criticisms concerning everyone and everything were beginning to irritate her and if she didn't leave the stifling atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks she feared she might have had to explain why there were bits of him stuck to the ceiling.

Ted liked his best friend, and his best friend's girlfriend but he felt like a third wheel, and it seemed as though the majority of his friends were in detention with a group of Ravenclaws after a particularly nasty post-Quidditch match fight had left several Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws sprouting wings. He didn't know why he had come today, but he managed to escape the Three Broomsticks for a bit of fresh air.

It was a cold, crisp autumn day. He found that he liked autumn, more so than spring and winter, but not as much as summer. The Shrieking Shack seemed to be the best place to avoid students, because he had come to learn that many students did not like muggle-borns, especially muggle-borns with no form of protection. Oh, he knew a handy spell or two, but it just wasn't enough, especially when purebloods always seemed to travel in packs.

She was there before he was and he was surprised, because if he recalled correctly she was a Slytherin girl, an popular one from what he had heard. It was abnormal, finding a popular Slytherin girl on her own, and he found that she was much less intimidating when she wasn't surrounded by a gaggle of giggling girls.

He liked this girl. When she was in class she was quiet and thoughtful and she gave intelligent, polite answers to all questions. She didn't snap at the muggle-born first years for no reason, and she shouted at the purebloods when they treated them badly.

He liked the girl, but he couldn't quite remember her name. Perhaps she was a half-blood who'd developed some perspective and sympathy.

In any case, he liked this girl and now that she wasn't caught in a fray it seemed as good time as any to get to know her a little better.

When he greeted her with a cheery hello, she answered with a vague nod and continued her analysis of the Shrieking Shack from her position in front of the fence. She didn't invite him over, but she didn't tell him to go away either and he took that as a good sign. It was certainly better than the reaction he was expecting and she was pretty and on her own and now seemed as good a time as any.

Andromeda didn't recognize the tall boy with the crooked smile. He seemed to be in a few of her classes and he was certainly an improvement on Rabastan Lestrange. She didn't know what to say, but he didn't seem bothered, and he was smiling broadly so she supposed she must have been doing something right.

"I'm Ted, I'm in your Potions class."

She didn't recall a Ted, but she gave him a vague smile and a nod, "I'm Andy."

That was her name, Andy. Not a normal pureblood name, it made him happy, because if she were a pureblood there would be certain complications.

"I really admire you."

He said it without thinking, and he blushed and mumbled, and floundered for a way to make it sound less embarrassing. But she didn't seem to mind and her smile grew wider. It was a genuine smile and he liked it much better than the tight one she wore at school.

"And why is that, Ted?"

It didn't occur to her to ask for his full name. It was nice, just a normal boy and a normal girl having a nice conversation of why said boy admired said girl.

He appeared to be utterly mesmerized with something on her face and she flushed at the attention and looked down at her shoes.

"Is there something wrong?"

He blinked repeatedly and grinned, that charming, crooked grin, "I really love your smile."

Now it was her turn for embarrassment and being flustered. He chuckled, and she fidgeted nervously. Ted leaned against a tree surrounded by hues of gold and red quickly losing vibrancy and already fading into a bland brown.

"I admire you because you're smart, and you're pretty, and you're fair and you're not arrogant."

She threw back her head and laughed, and he fell in love with the sound of tinkling sleigh bells and rain falling against window panes. She was wearing that wide, genuine grin, and he thought he'd love to be friends with this Slytherin half-blood princess.

Andy was pleased, so pleased, that there were people out there who like her for _who_ she was and not _what_ she was. He was a nice boy, this Ted, and she was pleasantly surprised that he noticed these small things that she knew were there but no one else seemed to.

"I can be a bit arrogant."

"I don't believe that."

"It's true!" It was imperative that he understood this.

Their conversation was light and easy and so very nice. It wasn't necessary to know last names or family trees. It wasn't important that he wasn't so refined and that she was a bit uptight. For thirty minutes on a cold, autumn afternoon they were just Andy and Ted, just two friends enjoying each other's company.

It is only thirty minutes long, but it is enough.

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A/N: Eh…my fluff will never be up to standard :/ But I liked this well enough. Hope you enjoyed it, hope it fit the requirements.

Reviews would be love :)


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